Bumping because I want to ask if there were any game-related Japanese sites where I can ask Japanese gamers questions (e.g. about game collecting, about gameplay-related issues/攻略, etc).

Preferably something similar to 2ch (but without overseas IP blocking) or 4chan, where I don't have to make an account (too lazy). Failing that, something similar to the GameFAQs message boards (game-specific boards), failing that again, then just any decent traffic general game message boards (my planned questioning will probably lean towards RPGs). Apparently Yahoo!Answers is pretty popular (Yahoo!知恵袋) but it's a too general and spread out community. A game topic dedicated version of Yahoo!Answers/Reddit perhaps, if it exists.

CIT already mentioned it before, but Twitter is the best source of information and news on Japanese games that I know of. Tons of Japanese game enthusiasts, historians, news services, arcades, individual developers, game companies, and so on, to follow...

2ch (now called 5ch) is still probably the best forum/board-style place for gamers discussing games so far I've seen. All foreigners are blocked from posting messages though as mentioned previously.

If you're interested in GameFAQs-style discussions about gameplay strategies for RPGs, then 家ゲRPG攻略 is for you. Discuss the latest news in the gaming world at ゲーム速報 or talk about the old retro stuff at レトロゲーム. Genre-specific boards exist like シューティング/STG which I'm sure you all will be interested in and if you're a fan of game music like I am then head on over to ゲーム音楽.

Funny how in this digital information superhighway multicultural globalised [insert buzzword here] era that we live in, groups still seek to self segregate. Not just with Japan of course, but similar also to China who basically have their own separate Internet and non Asian countries like South America and Russia. Partly due to language barriers understandably. Maybe we should force the entire world to speak one language?

Anyway, I wanted to ask questions to Japanese people about long lost old mobile phone games like Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII etc to see if they were doing anything in regards to digital preservation of those type of games and game preservation in general. But the IP/domain block.

Absolutely not, and that whorable asthetic does not stop at forums. Japanese website design in general symbolizes their stance on a lot of technologies. Their toilets and skylines may look like the future, but in actuality a lot of stuff (cash only, anyone?) is firmly stuck in the past.

Rade wrote:Finally received a reply by posting in a thread at that Gaijin forum:

Yeah and if we talk official game sites, even today they usually put screenshots in 400 px size or something even if it's 1080p ps4 game.

Though that also leads to thing with trailers... it's like 80% of japanese game trailers are some nonsense like cutscenes or cg renders or even promo art with words, and not an actual gameplay. Or they do show gameplay, but in small window right next to photo of seyu (i mean 声優 ), and it's less than half of trailer.

I miss times when trailers like 8 minute long Silent Hill E3 trailers were made though. But still, if it's shmup or action rpg, show me gameplay dammit.

p.s.It's weird because imho in early 2000s japanese webdesign was pretty modern and even ahead of time.

Iwazaru wrote:Yeah and if we talk official game sites, even today they usually put screenshots in 400 px size or something even if it's 1080p ps4 game.

I'm going to take an educated guess and say that's because Japan (mostly) doesn't use computers, as in desktop and to a lesser extent notebook/tablet PCs. Most of their Internet related activities are on smartphones so on a little screen like that, small screenshots are adequate. In contrast, China and South Korea use computers on a similar level to the West. Their lack of enthusiasm for proper computers are quite unique, I have to say.

And their lack of enthusiasm for pseudo-anonymous gaming message boards. I'm still annoyed I can't find such a thing.

Iwazaru wrote:Though that also leads to thing with trailers... it's like 80% of japanese game trailers are some nonsense like cutscenes or cg renders or even promo art with words, and not an actual gameplay. Or they do show gameplay, but in small window right next to photo of seyu (i mean 声優 ), and it's less than half of trailer.

I don't usually watch trailers but I'm sure there are a variety of them? There should be like the brief 15-30 second TV ads or teasers, the 2 minute trailers, and the more detailed 4 to 8 minute trailers. Maybe things have changed.

layzee wrote:I'm going to take an educated guess and say that's because Japan (mostly) doesn't use computers, as in desktop and to a lesser extent notebook/tablet PCs. .

These days there is plenty of internet-ing on mobile devices. The problem is (to a large extent) Japanese started all their internet activities on shitty screens. It's really hampered the whole freaking nation in terms of internet technology. I guess they're coming around to an extent... but it's nothing like the states.

Rade wrote:Finally received a reply by posting in a thread at that Gaijin forum:

layzee wrote:I'm going to take an educated guess and say that's because Japan (mostly) doesn't use computers, as in desktop and to a lesser extent notebook/tablet PCs. .

These days there is plenty of internet-ing on mobile devices. The problem is (to a large extent) Japanese started all their internet activities on shitty screens. It's really hampered the whole freaking nation in terms of internet technology. I guess they're coming around to an extent... but it's nothing like the states.

Japan and Internet seems to have an interesting (and different) history come to think of it. It maybe started with Bandai's Satellaview for Nintendo Super Famicom (if you count that as Internet) where you can do Internety things like "download" games and read e-magazines. Then there was the fairly rudimentary Internet services with the Nintendo GameCube and Sega Dreamcast (particularly Phantasy Star Online). The Sony PlayStation 2 and Final Fantasy XI really kicked it up a notch I'd say. And of course, you've got the "golden age" of technically advanced Japanese mobile phones which used to be the envy of the world and in hindsight, we can partially blame for the state of Japanese Internet today.

But I'm sure there must be some explanations other than "the small screen of phones" and "PCs are not popular" for Japanese website design. I only have to point out Chinese Internet websites which look equally shitty. Maybe it's some cultural preference. After all, just because we do things a certain way, that doesn't mean they have it too. Such as their preference for their (both Chinese and Japanese) banks to run on Windows XP...

For the record, I don't like the current worldwide trend of basing website design towards mobile devices (e.g. lots of useless white spaces/wasted real estate, less customisation, fewer features, basically dumbing down everything) so I'm not saying "our" way is better. But I digress.

For the record, I don't like the current worldwide trend of basing website design towards mobile devices (e.g. lots of useless white spaces/wasted real estate, less customisation, fewer features, basically dumbing down everything) so I'm not saying "our" way is better. But I digress.

There's no way to fix the unused space. Imagine an article would fill the entire width of your 16:9 monitor - you'd have to constantly shift your eyes left and right, which is really strenuous.On the other hand you can't fill the whole screen with other information because you'd give users sensory overload and they wouldn't know what to even look at.

Widescreen is a shit format for monitors only good to have run multiple gui programs side by side - but most programs aren't designed for that use case so it's not ideal either.

layzee wrote:But I'm sure there must be some explanations other than "the small screen of phones" and "PCs are not popular" for Japanese website design. I only have to point out Chinese Internet websites which look equally shitty. Maybe it's some cultural preference. After all, just because we do things a certain way, that doesn't mean they have it too. Such as their preference for their (both Chinese and Japanese) banks to run on Windows XP...

It's a cultural thing. Look at the Tokyo cityscape... look at a Tokyo flat... look at a Tokyo railway map... look at the language itself... There's basically zero blank space. It's just the way they do things. Every time I hear some Japanese cumpany boasting of "simplicity" I laugh and cry simultaneously to myself.

For the record, I don't like the current worldwide trend of basing website design towards mobile devices (e.g. lots of useless white spaces/wasted real estate, less customisation, fewer features, basically dumbing down everything) so I'm not saying "our" way is better. But I digress.

Bootstrap has the right idea. ONe code base to handle multiple displays. For a small venue (such as this one) it's the way to go. Now to just implement it.

Rade wrote:Finally received a reply by posting in a thread at that Gaijin forum: